Emma the Vampire Slayer
by Aoi Dragon
Summary: Before Emma Swan was the Savior of Fairy Tale characters, she fought against an evil much darker Rumpelstiltskin, and Regina combined. How will this change her? How will this affect her decisions in the future?
1. Potential

Aoi Dragon: I'm just testing an idea to see if it sticks with the fandoms. If not, I'll wait to post more until I've completed all of the Buffy arc and gotten into the interlude and perhaps into Storybrooke Season 1.

Enjoy! R&R!

ETVSETVSETVSETVSETVS

Flash. Fangs and claws. Flash. A road sign saying: "Sunnydale, California." Flash. Shining, evil yellow eyes. Flash. Blood and goo splattering everywhere. Flash. A voice telling her, "Flee." Flash. A wooden stake piercing a body. Flash. The voice: "Hellmouth." Flash. Robed figures with eyes sewn shut. Flash. The voice, urgent now: "RUN!"

Nineteen year old Emma Swan woke in a cold sweat, breathing hard. She had been having these dreams for months, and she'd tried not to let it bother her. However, they were getting worse. She had hoped to get some peace of mind in Tallahassee, waiting for Neal, but it had been over a year. He hadn't come. Then the dreams had begun and she wished he could be there to comfort her because, damn, they were scary.

There was a scuffling sound in the kitchen of her bedroom. She reached for the small pocket knife she kept in the drawer of her nightstand and slid quietly out of bed. She crept in the darkness, dawn peeking through the curtains. She saw her cell phone, right where she left it in the hall, charging, and she snatched it and got ready to call 911. Emma put in the numbers, ready to make the call with the push of a button. Just in case.

There was more shuffling. There was more than one. Clenching her left hand into a fist and tightening her grip on the knife, Emma continued to move forward toward the kitchen. In the darkness, she could see three figures making their way from the front door which was for some reason unbolted and unlocked. She could swear that she had done both before she went to bed.

One figure caught the light and Emma had to stifle a gasp as she saw that the eyes were sewn shut. Somehow they heard her and all three figures turned toward her. Emma was shaking now and, as she pressed the call button on her phone, sprinted to the bathroom.

"911, what's your emergency?" Came a concerned voice with a Southern drawl.

Emma reached the bathroom and slammed the door, locking it, "There are three people in my apartment." She gave the address, "They broke in." Something slammed against the door, "I think they're here to kill me. I don't know who they are or what they want. They have their eyes sewn shut, like some sort of cult wackos!"

"The police will be there in a moment. Lock yourself in a room and stay on the line." The operator said and made the call to a police officer on another line, "They are on their way."

SLAM! Something was trying to break the door down. Emma quivered. She had never been this scared in… well… ever. She had always loved a bit of thrill. That's why she'd loved being a thief - the thrill of stealing was addictive.

"Ma'am," The operator addressed her, "do you have something to defend yourself with in the room you are in?"

"I took my pocket knife with me, but I don't think it'll do too much to these guys." Emma winced and let out a frightened gasp as the door creaked with another body slam. She huddled back against the tub in the corner.

"Police will be there shortly." The operator assured, "What's your name, honey?"

"Emma. Emma Swan." She answered.

"Tell me a little about yourself, Miss Swan." The operator was trying to distract Emma, "Do you have family."

"N-No." She answered shortly. Family was a touchy topic.

"Boyfriend? Girlfriend?"

"No. I'm alone."

"Well, now you've got me. My name's Maria Lexington." There was a smile in her voice, trying to be comforting.

SLAM! Emma jumped at the noise and the door splintered slightly, "IT'S BREAKING! THEY'RE BREAKING DOWN THE DOOR!" She screamed into the phone. Her heart hammered in her chest.

"The police will be there shortly." The operator assured her again.

"Please." She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, "Please. I don't want to die."

Sirens wailed in the distance and quickly came closer, got louder. There was one more tremendous SLAM against the door, and it nearly buckled. Emma held out her knife, ready to slash at anyone or anything that came through the door.

"The officers are coming up to your apartment now, Miss Swan." The operator informed her.

Seconds later, she heard a male voice at her door, "Tallahassee PD, come out with your hands up!"

Emma didn't move, frozen in place in the bathroom, white knuckling her knife and her phone.

"Clear!" The officers moved through her apartment, sweeping it for the three wackjobs that had tried to kill her.

Soon, on the other side of the door, a soothing voice questioned, "Miss Emma Swan?"

"I'm in here." She answered softly.

"It looks like you're in good hands, Miss Swan." The operator told her. "I hope things work out and you catch the criminals."

"Thanks." Emma said and closed her phone, hanging up.

The door fell off its hinges as the police finished breaking down the door. Finally Emma relaxed, knowing that she was safe from those things. However, she knew in her gut that she would have to travel to Sunnydale, California as soon as possible.

ETVSETVSETVSETVS

After a couple days where the police investigated the incident at Emma's apartment, she decided that she needed to head to Sunnydale, California. She packed her meager belongings and headed for the bus station. It would take an entire day or more by car, but she had to get there, she had to find - someone.

Emma stopped once in a while for coffee, and slept a few times in the car when she almost fell asleep at the wheel. Each night she had more frightening dreams, each one more violent than the last. She almost always woke up in a cold seat. The first time she'd had the dream, she had wished Neal had been there to comfort her, only for her bitter hatred to rear its ugly head and push her ex-lover from her mind.

Emma finally stopped just north of Los Angeles, and went to a nearby Starbucks to get a coffee. She jumped when there was a tap on her shoulder and she spun around, nearly punching the person in the face.

To her surprise, she was blocked and she looked up into the face of a middle-aged man with a solemn face, "Emma Swan?" He asked in a cultured British accent.

"How do you know my name?" She asked suspiciously.

"My name is Rupert Giles." He replied, "I'm here to help you and keep you safe."

"I can take care of myself." Emma snapped.

The man smiled warmly for an instant before his expression returned to its solemn look, "I'm certain you can, however, the creatures that are hunting you will not take it easy on you. They are stronger, faster than anything you've ever gone up against. I will bring you to a safe haven where others like you will gather for protection and training."

Emma's eyes narrowed, "What exactly is going on here?" She detected no lies from Mr. Giles, and she was very good at spotting lies.

He sighed, "That is a story for when we are safe behind closed doors. Come." He motioned toward a car where there were three girls silhouetted behind the tinted windows of the car.

"I have my own car." Emma looked over her shoulder at her yellow bug.

Giles gave her a nod, "I'm sorry, but you will have to leave it here for the time being. It might be destroyed by the end of this fight if you bring it with you."

"Will I be able to come back for it?"

"Certainly."

She hesitated, her eyes darting from the strange man to hise car. Her lips formed a thin line as she weighed her options. "I don't know if I should…" She muttered, eyes darting around for an escape.

"Miss Swan," Mr. Giles' voice was a bit harsher now, and deadly soft, "we do not have time to loiter here. The Bringers of Death will find you and kill you."

"Bringers of Death?" Emma questioned.

"I believe that is what brought you here. You were attacked, were you not?" Mr. Giles asked.

"How do you know that?" She demanded.

"One of the other girls experienced the same with the dreams and then the Bringers." Mr. Giles explained, "Please, Miss Swan, we need to keep you safe."

Emma pursed her lips and made her decision, "Alright." She followed Mr. Giles to the car and climbed in the back seat.

"Hi!" Said a cheerful red-headed girl of about fifteen or sixteen, "I'm Vi."

"Hi." Emma said a little less enthusiastically.

The brunette in the front seat turned around, "I'm Amanda. I found out about this stuff a while ago, but I'm still overwhelmed by it all. I mean, I was just a normal high school student and then BAM! I wake up from a nightmare and my world goes topsy-turvy."

Emma nodded, "So you know what's going on?"

"A little. Buffy and the others don't really like talking around us Potentials, but I know a little bit."

"I'm Molly," The other brunette girl said with a thick Cockney accent, "Mr. Giles found me in England and brought me over here after my watcher was killed by Bringers."

Emma grimaced, "I'm sorry to hear that." She noticed that all of these girls were three or four years younger than her. She also wondered who this Buffy person was, and what sort of a name was Buffy?

Mr. Giles got into the driver's seat, "Fasten your seat belts if you haven't already."

ETVSETVSETVSETVSETVSETVS

Emma slowly got to know all of the other girls. Oh, yeah, apparently, there were vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness, and Emma was one of the many girls with the potential to gain the powers of the Slayer, the Chosen One who fought against them. Buffy Summers was the current Slayer, and they were all living in her house, which was magically protected. Magic was real too. It was unbelievable! This entire thing was insane.

It had already been a week since Emma had arrived in Sunnydale - or as many of the girls called it "Sunnyhell". It had so far been like one big sleepover. All of the girls were younger, still in high school, and Emma felt little connection with them. Yet, she still stayed with them because it was a comfort to be around girls who had had at least one experience in common. Emma had never had that before, and she would not let go of the gradual sense of belonging she felt with these other Potential Slayers.

Like many high school girls during a sleepover, they couldn't help but talk. They whispered about the slightly crazed, but docile vampire in the basement. They grumbled about Andrew's incessant ramblings, whinings and nerd culture references. They laughed about Xander's dry humor and general silliness.

As more girls arrived in Sunnydale, it was soon apparent that Buffy's house was not big enough to hold them all. Xander had opened up his apartment to the girls and became much like a big brother to all of them. Emma, however, not wanting to be around snot-nosed teenagers who loved to gossip decided to stay at Buffy's house with Vi, Kennedy, and some of the other Potentials.

The dynamic of the group changed drastically when Faith arrived in Sunnydale. Emma was reading up on vampires with Giles pointing out discrepancies and Dawn listening in from across the table when Buffy, Spike the ensouled vampire, and a brunette woman who screamed delinquent walked in. Emma watched them and listened to their conversation, waiting to be introduced if that was even necessary.

The brunette froze for a second and looked around, "Woah Memory Lane. Same old house."

Buffy gave a wan smile, "Yeah, well, every piece of furniture's been destroyed and replaced since you left, so, actually, new house."

Emma glanced around discretely, noting that the dining room table and chairs were, in fact very new-looking. She then looked to Dawn who didn't look happy at all and wondered what was wrong.

Dawn stood and crossed her arms, "Buffy?" The younger sister asked in a disapproving voice and glared at brunette.

Emma could read between the lines. It seemed that Buffy and her friends had a history with the brunette, and not all of it was good.

Buffy tried to brush it off, "We have a new house guest."

The brunette waved and grinned, "Hey, got a spare bed for a wanted fugitive?"

Giles pushed back his chair, causing Emma to swing her head around to look at him. He cleared his throat, pursed his lips in a most disapproving manner and said, "Hello, Faith." And nodded to her.

The brunette shrugged a little, "Well, I guess 'wanted' wasn't really accurate." She looked to Emma, "Who's the blonde? A cousin, B?"

Something about Faith rubbed Emma the wrong way and she stood, glaring at the taller woman, "Emma Swan. I'm one of the Potentials."

"A Mini B!" Faith exclaimed. Emma pursed her lips, but inwardly, she was a bit proud to be compared to the petite Slayer.

Buffy groaned, "Shut up, Faith." Emma was technically taller than Buffy, but from her seated position, Faith couldn't see that.

"Does she have to stay here?" Dawn asked, "Because there's some nice hotels that welcome tried-to-kill-your-sister types."

Emma's eyes widened. She'd heard some talk about the 'Dark Slayer'. Was this her? It had to be, right?

Faith gives a bitter and slightly antagonistic smile to Dawn, "Check it out. Brat's all woman-sized."

Buffy sighed in exasperation, "Look, I need to get to the hospital. Some girl was attacked on her way into town. We think she might be a—"

"We know. Willow's been calling." Dawn interrupted her sister.

"She's still there. She's going to call if the girl wakes up." Giles added.

Buffy nodded and turned to Emma, "You want to come with me, Emma? The girl might feel more comfortable if she had someone closer to her age around."

Emma stood, glad to get out of the house, "Sure."

"Grab a camera. Will said that she had a burn mark that looked like an insignia." Buffy instructed.

As they left the room, Giles told Faith that they would set up a place for her to sleep while she was at the house.

ETVSETVSETVS

That afternoon, at the hospital, Buffy confidently led the way to the nurse's station, telling the nurse that she and Emma were the girl's (Shannon's) good friends. Reluctantly, the nurse allowed them to see the injured girl.

Shannon lay on the hospital bed with bandages wrapped around her head and most likely on the stomach where the stab wound was from the evil preacher man. She looked up when they came in, "You." She said in an almost accusatory voice, but slightly awed, "I dreamed about you…"

Buffy wasn't phased as she strode toward Shannon, "I'm Buffy." She leaned over the girl and continued quietly, "I'm the Slayer."

The girl tried to sit up more, "Then I found you. I'm safe."

Grimacing, Buffy replied, "We'll have to get you out of here because there are very few places that are actually safe here in Sunnydale."

"What about the psycho who attacked me?" Shannon asked, "He was a minister, or something... At least, he dressed like one. I thought he was trying to save me...at first."

"He—he picked you up on the side of the road?"

"Bringers were chasing me. He said they were his boys...right before he burned me." She lifted a bandage on her neck to show a burned insignia. Emma grimaced at the angry red mark and took a picture of it at Buffy's indication.

"He wanted to tell you something. Before he...cut me...he told me to give the slayer a message." Shannon continued, replacing the bandage.

"What is it?" Buffy leaned forward, a frown marring her face.

"He said, 'I have something of yours.'"

"That's a taunt if I ever heard one." Emma mumbled.

Shannon looked to the other Potential Slayer, "Who's that?"

"She's going to stay with you until you're discharged," Buffy told the girl, "She's a Potential, just like you."

Emma blinked, "But I never said -"

Buffy turned to her, "I'm trusting you with this, protecting Shannon. You're the oldest Potential, and I know you can fight - you're a survivor."

Stunned at the Slayer's show of trust, Emma could only nod, "Okay." She had never been given such responsibility. Hell, she had given up her baby because she thought she would be a terrible mother.

"Can you handle it?" Buffy challenged.

"Of course!"

"Good. I'll take the camera back to Willow and we can see if we can figure out who this psycho preacher is." The Slayer said, Emma handed over the camera, "I'll be back. Protect her. I'm counting on you."

Emma found a chair and sat next to the hospital bed and Shannon sighed, "So… this isn't awkward at all." The girl shifted on the bed, "What happened to you to get you here?"

"Bringers broke into my apartment and tried to kill me." Emma replied.

Shannon grimaced, "Those guys are creepy. I mean, seriously, what's with the sewn shut eyes? How do they DO anything? They don't have anything a normal blind person might have; they just seem to know where you are."

"They almost broke down my bathroom door," Emma said, "It was a pretty sturdy door too. Scared the shit out of me." Shannon suddenly laughed. "What?"

"I'm so glad you don't treat me like a kid and watch your language. It's refreshing." The other girl replied, "I might not look it, but I am eighteen."

A smile blossomed on Emma's face, "You have no idea how many times I've been yelled at for swearing in front of Dawn." At Shannon's confused face, Emma amended, "Buffy's younger sister. She's at least sixteen and has probably heard worse things from the resident vampire -"

"Vampire!?" Shannon exclaimed.

"He's got a soul. He won't hurt anyone, at least not anyone on our side."

"Are you serious?"

"Oh yes. Buffy's even vouched for him." Emma was fine as long as she wasn't talking about herself, she could talk about others.

"Huh. That's new." Shannon had a quizzical look, "Any idea when I'll get out of here?"

"Don't know. Tomorrow, maybe?"

"Encouraging."

Afternoon bled to evening and the two young women decided to watch TV and talk during the commercials.

There was a buzz from Emma's pocket, "Swan." She picked up the phone, "Willow? What's happening? - Are you sure Shannon is safe alone? - You did? Okay. - Yeah." Emma turned to Shannon, "Willow cast a shield spell around your room, so nothing that wants to do you harm can enter."

"What's happening?"

"Buffy's calling in the cavalry. She found the psycho preacher." She snapped her phone shut, "I got to go, but I'll come back later."


	2. Vineyard

Aoi Dragon: Chapter 2 is now up, obviously. I just finished writing the _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ part of this story. I'm moving on to some missions that Emma goes on before being stationed in Boston under the guise of a bail-bonds person. Oh the plans I have for her and the fairytale people!

ETVSETVSETVS

Willow had parked her car outside the hospital and brought Emma directly to Buffy's house for the Slayer-Potential pow-wow. Xander was giving Rona, Molly, Chao-Ahn, Amanda a pep talk using a baseball bat.

"Now remember, we're looking for killing blows only, people." He handed the bat to Rona, "So, chest and throat if it's a vampire. Stomach, chest and face if it's a Bringer."

"What if it's something else?" Rona asked, inspecting the bat.

Xander shrugged, "Could happen. Something other-worldly. And here's a handy rule: don't go for the flashy tentacles just because they're waving 'em about trying to get attention. Go for the center— brains, heart, eyes." He said pointing to each body part, "Everything's got eyes, even if they're sewn shut."

"Emma!" Dawn noticed her, "How's Shannon?"

"She's doing fine." Emma answered, "Can't we just use a sword instead of a baseball bat? They're better at cutting things."

"She's got a point," Amanda said.

"I don't want there to be tentacles." Molly put in, "I'm not good with squishy. Especially if there are exploding brains. I want a sword instead of a bat."

"You want a sword?" Kennedy asked, raising her own, "Here's one for you." She motioned behind her to a chest that had been brought down from a room upstairs, "I don't care if Godzilla shows. I'm going with a sword. To hell with the bat."

Andrew passed by the room and stuck his head in, "Godzilla's mostly Tokyo-based, so he's probably a no-show."

Amanda rolled her eyes, "Besides, if Matthew Broderick can kill Godzilla, how tough is he?"

"XANDER!" Andrew whined at being shut out of the pow wow. He stood there petulantly with his arms crossed. He looked like a little kid as he pouted.

"Matthew Broderick did not kill Godzilla. He killed a big, dumb lizard. That was not the real Godzilla." Xander tried to smooth things over so they wouldn't have a whiny Andrew complaining every second after this.

Rona could only stare, "You people are even crazier than her."

"Than who?" Xander asked.

"Buffy, man. I mean, taking us right into the bad guy's lair." Rona replied.

"Well, that's where, generally speaking, you'd go to find the bad guy." Xander explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He tried to joke, "And I don't think you came here to fight plaque."

"No, I came here for protection." Rona pointed out.

Emma straightened. She knew her duty and she'd stick by it, but these girls - they were kids, not warriors. Didn't Xander see this, know this? The next thing he said gave her the answer to this question.

"Well, you signed on to fight with—"

Emma glared. However, when she spoke, she did so in a very even tone, "These girls are not Slayers. We have the potential, but very few of us have probably fought with anything stronger than an average high schooler. They are - we are - scared. And you're wrong. We didn't sign up for this fight. We were forced into it, just like Faith and just like Buffy. Those of us who are willing to fight will probably help you fight, but none of these girls have had real training in anything. They're just going off their instincts and that could get them killed."

Rona nodded, "This plan is trouble. OK, Buffy doesn't care how many of us she puts in danger—"

"Let me tell you something about Buffy. In fact, you should all listen to this." Xander bit out.

"Uh, we kinda were." Kennedy sassed.

However, Xander continued his speech as if Kennedy hadn't interrupted him, "I've been through more battles with Buffy than you all can ever imagine. She's stopped everything that's ever come up against her. She's laid down her life—literally—to protect the people around her. This girl has died two times, and she's still standing." The girls, even Emma, were stunned. Buffy had done that much? No one should have to do that much... "You're scared? That's smart. You got questions? You should. But you doubt her motives, you think Buffy's all about the kill, then you take the little bus to battle. I've seen her heart, and this time—not literally. And I'm telling you, right now, she cares more about your lives than you will ever know. You got to trust her. She's earned it."

"Damn. I never knew you were that cool." It was just then that Faith and Buffy walked in. Buffy had obviously overheard Xander's speech because her eyes were a little teary.

The blonde Slayer gave a small smile, "Well, you always were a little slow."

"I get that now." Faith replied.

"All right, let's saddle up." Buffy looked to the girls, the tears vanishing as if they'd never been there, "Everyone who wants to fight grab a sword. Emma was right about that, Xander, these girls aren't trained to fight yet. I think it would be better to only take those willing to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. We're supposed to protect them, not get them killed because they have the potential of being a Slayer. If we thought that, we would've just left them to the Bringers."

Several girls, and Emma, picked up swords and stood with Buffy and Faith.

"We're ready to fight." Rona said, having chosen to prove herself to the Slayer.

ETVSETVSETVSETVS

Buffy led Faith, Spike, Xander, and a small group of Potentials to a vineyard just outside of town. At the door, Buffy turned to everyone, "OK. Set up a perimeter." She instructed Faith, Spike, and Xander, "Guard the door. I don't want anything getting in behind us. My team goes in first, we check the place out. You guys are our safety-net. If this place is a trap, we give the signal, you guys come in, guns a-blazing."

"So, what's the signal?" Xander asked, hefting a medium sized battle axe.

"I'm thinking lots and lots of yelling." The blonde Slayer replied.

"Got it."

Buffy looked to the Potentials who were coming with her, "Shall we?"

Emma drew her long sword. She felt surprisingly at home with a blade in her hand and couldn't help the smile that flitted across her face. Then she schooled her features and followed Buffy inside the vineyard with the other girls behind her. They left Faith, Xander and two Potentials behind as Spike made up the rear of the party.

Buffy led them around the main floor and they found a cellar door, which she opened and headed down with a 'follow me' motion. The teens looked at Emma, as if she was Buffy's second or something. Emma squared her shoulders and followed the Slayer into the cellar.

Molly stared around at the cellar, "What is this place?"

"I think it's an old vineyard," Buffy informed them.

"An evil vineyard?" Kennedy tried to joke, but it fell flat.

"Like Falcon Crest." Spike suggested.

Buffy shook her head and tightened her grip on her weapon, "Stay alert, you guys. Bringers are here somewhere. Just need to find out where."

"Shouldn't be too hard." The vampire drawled.

Just as he said that, Bringers came out of the shadows and from behind wine barrels. Everyone readied their weapons as the Bringers advanced for a one-on-one. Emma gripped her sword, and watched the Bringer that had chosen to fight her; it held only a knife.

With amazing speed and accuracy for something without eyes, the Bringer lunged at her slicing toward her neck since her guard was low - something she would have to work on. Emma parried clumsily and was surprised by the strength behind the Bringer. She stumbled back a few steps and regained her footing. The Bringer came at her again, going low and lethal. Emma dodged and attacked the Bringer's side. It seemed to slide out of the way, like a snake or a wisp of smoke.

Then, just as suddenly as the fighting started, the Bringers retreated back into the shadows. A man with short brown hair, piercing blue eyes and a preacher's collar stepped into the light applauding sarcastically.

"Well, now, you girls are just burning with righteousness, aren't you?" He mocked, smirking at Buffy, "Problem is, you think you're blazing like suns, when really you're burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness." He turned to Emma, who was closest to him, "Now ain't you a special one, darlin'. So full of sin and wretchedness. You having fun? Now, I hope my boys haven't worn you out too much—I need you fit for when I purify you." He stepped toward Emma and her sword came up to defend her.

Buffy was beside her in an instant, "Save the sermon, padre. I heard you have something of mine."

He paused and chuckled darkly, "Well, I do now. You liked my little message, did you? You know, I ruined a perfectly good knife on that girl. Got her soiled blood all over the place. I may have to get a new truck." Buffy recoiled slightly, but the crazy preacher continued, his focus now entirely on the Slayer, "So, you're the slayer. The slayer. The strongest, the fastest, the most aflame with that most precious invention of all mankind—the notion of goodness. The slayer must indeed be powerful." Then he punched her and to everyone's surprise and horror, Buffy went flying across the room. The preacher smirked, "So, what else you got?"

Spike got his game face on, his eyes turning golden and ridges appearing on his forehead. He roared as he charged the preacher from his position, baring his fangs. Spike pushed past Emma and struck at the preacher. He deflected with ease and sent the master vampire to his knees in one hit. Then the preacher headbutted Spike and threw him across the room like a frisbee into a wine storage tank.

Kennedy was the first to unfreeze, "Let's go!" She attacked, and Emma joined her. Unfortunately, the Bringers chose that time to come back out to fight and they were all soon busy fighting their own harbinger. Kennedy had, however, gotten to the crazy preacher and was trying to fight him. It only took one hit from him to knock her down into some wine barrels.

"Kennedy!" Rona called out, worried. The distraction cost her as a Bringer nearly gutted her.

"I got it, Rona," Emma called out and ran to where Kennedy was sprawled. She was unconscious, but alive. Emma turned and came face to face with the preacher.

"Tsk tsk, darlin'." He tutted, "I'm not going to sully myself with the likes of you," Emma tried to strike him, he swayed to the side and caught her arm, "though I'm sure your sacrifice will not be in vain." The preacher then grinned and jerked her arm.

SNAP! Emma screamed and her sword clattered to the floor.

The preacher laughed and picked up a knife on the floor, "One would think the product of true love would be stronger, but you're just a piece of shattered, dirty, glass." He raised the knife.

Rona attacked from the side, "Don't you hurt her!" The preacher dodged her sword and plunged his knife into her gut.

An arrow whizzed by the preacher's head as he bent to twist the knife. Emma looked up in the direction of the entrance as she cradled her broken arm. Xander stood in the doorway, a grim look on his face.

"Oh, good. There's more of you." The crazy preacher said gleefully.

Faith charged at the preacher, knocking him away from Rona and Emma. Emma crawled over to the Potential and pressed around the knife wound with her good hand, "Hang in there Rona. Please, hang in there."

Rona coughed a little, "I'll do my best. Here." The girl handed Emma her secondary weapon that she'd hidden in her sleeve, "Take it." Emma gripped the handle and prepared herself to fight off Bringers.

However, as she looked around, no Bringers were coming near them, and there seemed to be some sort of glassy barrier around her and Rona. Faith was fighting the preacher, and losing. The Potential, Chao-Ann lunged at him when Faith had been flung across the room. He dodged the pathetic attack, gripped her head and twisted. The Potential fell over dead.

Emma's heart stopped. "NO!" She heard someone cry. She stared at Chao-Ann's lifeless body, her glassy eyes. She was the oldest Potential. She should be protecting the others. She had failed.

The preacher grinned maliciously, "Yes." He approached the Potential, Molly, with a murderous gleam in his eyes.

Emma ducked her head. "No more." She whispered.

She heard Buffy yell, "Xander, get them out of here. We have to retreat. Do it."

Emma looked up again and saw that Molly was trying to fight the preacher. She saw Kennedy fighting off Bringers with limited success. She saw Faith slowly recovering. She saw Buffy trying to get others to safety.

"No more." Emma said, her eyes going back to Molly and to her horror, the preacher was choking her.

"What can I say? I work in mysterious ways." He said to the girl, sntached her knife, and stabbed her, aiming upward through her stomach to her lungs.

Again, failure washed over Emma. She needed to protect everyone. She had to protect everyone, "NO MORE!" She shouted. There was a wash of energy throughout the room and all the Bringers toppled over unconscious and the preacher was thrown into a wall, away from Molly's gasping, suffocating, dying body.

Taking the opportunity to get out now and ask questions later, Spike grabbed Buffy, Xander went to Kennedy to help her up. Emma lifted Rona, awkwardly keeping pressure on her wound.

"Let's go! Come on!" Xander made sure everyone got out first. Just as he was about to make his own exit, the preacher came up behind him.

"You're the one who sees everything, aren't you?" The preacher sneared and grabbed Xander's face, "Well, let's see what we can't do about that." He plunged his thumb in one of Xander's eyes.

Xander screamed. Spike charged back in and knocked the preacher from Xander, grabbed him and dragged him to safety.

Buffy was at his side immediately, "Xander! Come on." She lifted him up and she and Spike anchored his arms so he could walk, keeping his dignity. "Hospital." She said, and they headed in that direction.

ETVSETVSETVSETVS

Emma, Rona, and Xander were the only ones who had to go to the hospital. Emma's arm had been a clean break through the radius and ulna in the forearm, though it broke the skin. She got a cast and was sent home. Rona and Xander had to stay because their surgeries were a bit more intensive. They needed to be there for observation.

Everyone else headed back to Buffy's house. As soon as they got to the safety of the living room, Willow came over and healed Emma's arm the rest of the way and made the cast vanish. Emma's arm was good as new, but she would always have a nasty jagged scar on her lower forearm where the bone had broken through the skin.

Shannon had also been discharged and she chose to join all of them at Buffy's house for safety. She stayed close to Emma, since they had bonded over TV and Bringer experiences. Emma could tell that Buffy was devastated and knew she had to say something.

"Stay with the girls, Shannon." She told her friend, "I'm going to talk to Buffy."

Emma found the Slayer in the kitchen, "Hey."

Buffy had her hands placed on the island's countertop and her head was hanging, "I'm sorry." She said.

"Don't be." Emma replied, "We chose to follow you. There was no way you could've known the psycho preacher was that strong."

"No! That's not true!" Buffy cried, her gaze shooting to Emma, "I shouldn't have gotten any of you involved. He said he had something of MINE! Not OURS! MINE! I should've gone alone."

"I would've followed you." Emma declared, "Whether you wanted me to or not. I'd've come with you. Helped you. It's my duty as a Potential."

"That's the thing, though," Buffy shook her head, "I almost got everyone killed. This - all of this -" She motioned to the girls in the living room, "It's MY fault. My fault Chao-Ann is dead. My fault Molly is dead. My fault they all got hurt."

Emma hesitated on saying anything. She had so many trust issues and she didn't want to look weak, but here the Slayer was, vulnerable, guilty, and confessing that she was responsible for everything, "I thought it was my fault too. I'm the oldest Potential. I should've been the strongest. Then again, I was just as useless against the Bringers and the preacher as the rest of them."

"You weren't useless," Buffy said softly, "Whatever you did in those last seconds - that energy wave thing - it saved us all. You are our savior. We couldn't have gotten out without you."

"I didn't do that…" Emma trailed off, thinking back to that strange energy wave.

Buffy gave a grimacing smile, "It came from you. I saw it. Faith saw it. So, thanks."

"If I did do it, and I'm not saying I did, because I really don't believe I have that kind of power," Emma still protested, "then I don't need any thanks. We all did what was necessary to survive. We are all survivors."

"Yeah." Buffy lowered her head again, "We are."

"Don't shoulder this on your own, Buffy. You did what you thought was right and fair." Emma told her, "Evil just likes to fight dirty."

The Slayer gave a harsh laugh, "You'd think I'd learn."

"It's the price we pay as the good guys. We want to see the good in people, even when they're evil psycho preachers." Emma tried to add a bit of humor, but it fell very flat. She sighed, "I'll be in the next room helping the girls. Just know that I'll support you."

Buffy looked up, her green eyes wide as Emma left the room.

ETVSETVSETVS

Most of the girls spent the night huddled together in Buffy's living room, taking comfort in each other. Emma tended to some wounds - lacerations, and bad bruises. The Potentials who had stayed behind - the ones who were 14 and 15 - helped the older girls and talked to them, trying to be comforting.

"Next time we see him, that bastard's going to get it," Kennedy sneered, "I'll kill him with my bare hands if I have to."

Amanda shook her head, "He's so far out of our league. We can't even beat the ubervamps! How are we supposed to go up against crazy preacher man?"

"We'll learn." Emma said, "We can learn to fight; we can learn the ubervamps' weaknesses. We can find a way to defeat the preacher."

"She's right!" Anya spoke up as she tended to Vi, who had a scalp wound, "I can set up a lesson. I know a bit about the ubervamps."

"I'll help!" Andrew said excitedly and animatedly, "I can do drawings and diagrams! We'll figure out a way to destroy this Death Star and -"

"Shut up Andrew." Kennedy growled.

Andrew pouted but fell quiet.

ETVSETVSETVS

True to her word, Anya set up a lesson on the ubervamps, with Andrew's help at an easel-pad down in Buffy's basement. Andrew wrote on the paper in big red capital letters: UBERVAMP. Then he underlined it.

"And so we know that a battle is coming. Ubervamps galore. We also know that the Ubervamps are hard to kill…"

Andrew, in the background wrote and spoke aloud, "Hard… to… kill." Below the word ubervamp.

Anya continued as if she hadn't heard Andrew's muttering, "But I have been out talking to some of my old contacts, and they've provided some surprising bits of news. Yay for them!" Andrew drew a really bad picture of an ubervamp. Anya and the Potentials were not impressed with his artistic skills, "Uh...OK. For example, Ubervamps can be staked... right through the heart. Zing—poof."

Andrew wrote "steak" on the board, causing some snickers. He then realized his mistake at Anya's glare, scribbled out the word, and rewrote "stake" beside it. He then drew many arrows toward his drawing of the ubervamp as Anya spoke. When Emma had first met Andrew, she had wondered why he was there. However, he seemed to lighten the mood with his silly, nerdy antics, and had made many of the girls feel at ease in a funny-little-brother kind of way. He was a spaz, that was for sure, and the only time anyone got mad at him was when he got too whiny and complained over the little things.

"Just like regular vamps. Um...we didn't know course, these guys have incredibly strong sternums, so it's a lot like driving a wooden stake through solid steel. But you guys are all super-strong, right?" Anya tried to smile at them all.

Kennedy sighed, "Um...no."

The vengeance demon looked a bit flustered at that, "Right. OK. Um... but still, heart information, still good to know since holy water seems to run off these guys like they've been scotch-guarded. And, well, sunlight would work, but guess what— they're not coming out during the daytime." Andrew flipped to a clean sheet of paper as Anya barrelled on with her speech, "Uh, also, beware of their, uh, teeth and the claws they use to shred flesh." She made her own clawed hands, as Andrew wrote 'teeth, claws' on the easel-pad.

Amanda spoke, "You know, I'm not really concerned that much with these ubervamps. Ever since the scary preacher rolled into town and we fought him and lost, I've been terrified of him."

Anya became more flustered and actually fingered some notecards, not really knowing what to say, "Right, well, um... we're working on getting info on that guy."

"Why bother? Nothing works. Nothing will." Amanda replied pessimistically.

"OK... I know you're all upset... and I, myself, would much rather be sitting at the bedside of my one-eyed ex-fiance than killing time here with you people in this over-crowded and might I add increasingly ripe-smelling basement." The girls shifted uncomfortably, and Emma had to hide her expression of amusement; she knew where this was heading, "And I would be, too, if not for a certain awkward discussion he and I recently had right over there on that cot immediately following some exciting and unexpected breakup sex."

Some of the girls blushed bright red as Andrew wrote 'breakup sex' on the board and underlined it.

Anya continued, not embarrassed at all, "But...I need to give him some space... so I'm doing what I can do, contributing any way I can... and so will all of you. You still need to know this information. We can't stop just because something else is trying to kill you, too."

The point was there at heart, but the anecdote was just very awkward for the girls. So, Emma spoke, "What Anya's trying to say, is that by knowing the weaknesses of one enemy is better than knowing nothing about our enemies at all. We've fought the crazy preacher, so now we know what we're up against and can figure out a way to fight back and win. Because we will win."

The vengeance demon nodded with a smile, "Exactly right!"

"So, since we're also concerned about the preacher," Emma put in, "What do we actually know about him?"

"He's super strong, stronger than even Buffy." Amanda said.

"He's got Bringers as minions." Kennedy added.

Vi nodded, "He'll probably team up with the ubervamps too."

Andrew was writing furiously on the easel-pad, "Slow down!" He whined.

"He's a southern U.S. guy." Shannon noted, "I doubt that means anything, but it could help with telling us who he is and where he came from."

"Good point." Anya nodded and Andrew wrote that down.

The discussion continued among the Potentials, and eventually turned to training so that they wouldn't be so easily beaten the next time they went up against the Bringers and the preacher.

ETVSETVSETVS

Aoi Dragon: Please read and review! I love getting suggestions and constructive criticism. Flames will be used to summon a wraith.


	3. Break

Hi all,

I usually don't do this, but it is important for you to know.

I revamped (pun intended) both chapters one and two, expanded and added to them. Check them out before I post chapter 3 later this week.

This author's note will self destruct upon the posting of Chapter 3.

~Aoi Dragon


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